Folding seat



D. E. AUSTIN Dec. 2, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 22, 1947 D. E.AUSTIN Dec. 2, 1952 FOLDING SEAT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 22. 1947INVENTOR. Elma/7E 50577 By 214% (4,4 I

D. E. AUSTIN FOLDING SEAT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 22, 1947 0 M i Wl w w .m m 0 6 m w w m m m m m r I 1m um n: f v kmwi m fi FE "||/|I|H|..TFL l\ rllL L fhllllrllll nllllllllllllllll.III'IIL may F 3\ p w 7 o aa a m H Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 25 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a seat, preferably a chair for a single personand especially a lounge chair. The seat is of the folding type in whichthe back may be folded forward, and the seat and arm rests are raisedand lowered with the back. The chair is particularly designed for use inthe bedroom of a train or plane or boat or the like because it may be soconstructed that, when folded, it may easily be slid under a berth.

The chair consists of two leg assemblies suitably tied together, twoarm-rest assemblies also suitably tied together, a seat that preferablyrides on the arm-rest assemblies, and a back that is hinged to the legand arm-rest assemblies. To fold the chair, it is only necessary to foldthe back forward as a lid would be operated on a chest or trunk. Thisaction lowers the arm assemblies into the leg assemblies, and the seatwhich is supported by the arm assemblies is simultaneously lowered intothe space between the leg assemblies. In the preferred construction theback folds down until it is flush with the top of the leg assemblies,giving the chair, when folded, an over-all height of preferably not morethan about 12 inches. To unfold the chair, it is only necessary to liftthe back up in the manner in which the lid of a chest is lifted. Thelifting of the back raises the seat and arm assemblies into the correctlocation. When the back is moved into its upright position, itssupporting mechanism passes over the center so as to lock the entirechair in open position. No latch or other looking mechanism is required.However, locking means may be employed, and one preferred form of theinvention disclosed herein includes means for locking the chair open andmeans for looking it closed.

The back is pivotally connected to and supported by the arm assembliestoward their rear. These pivotal points are at all times a constantdistance from the seat. Since the connection is with the rearward partof the arm assemblies, suitable mechanism is provided for moving thefront and back portions of the arm assemblies and seat in unison.

In addition to these pivotal points of support for the back, it issupported near its base by two links, one on each side of the chair.These are pivoted at their bottom ends to the leg assemblies, near thefloor and toward the rear. Thus, as the back is folded down and thenback up again and the two first-mentioned pivotal points move down andup in a vertical direction,

these lower points move rearwardly and forwardly in an arcuate path.This throws the base of the back of the chair to the rear, as the seatis lowered; hence, the top of the back swings forward and down.Conversely, as the back is returned to its normal position, its base isswung forward.

The chair and its operating mechanism will be further described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the finished upholstered chair in theopen position;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the finished upholstered chair in theclosed position;

Fig. 3 is a, view of the near side of the chair as shown in Fig. 1 witha portion of the leg assembly broken away to more clearly present theoperating mechanism of the chair and the sponge-rubber cushion is shownin phantom;

Fig. 4 is a detail taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail on the line E -6 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail of the back portion of the chair taken onthe line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a section through the middle of the folded chair;

Fig. 9 illustrates diagrammatically alternative means of supporting theseat and arm assemblies;

Fig. 10 is a detail of the pulley arrangement of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic showing of a further alternative means ofsupporting the seat and arm assemblies;

Fig. 12 is a detail of the rack and gear arrangement shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a view of the underside of a chair provided with a rack andgear and shows a counterbalancing spring;

Figs. 14 and 15 are a back and side view, respectively, of the samechair showing means for locking the chair open and means for locking itclosed; and

Fig. 16 shows a, modified rack and gear structure.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the upholstery is in place over the sponge-rubbercushions on the seat and back of the chair. The upholstery has beenomitted from Figs. 3, 5 and 8 for the sake of clarity. The seat and backassemblies are shown in phantom in Fig. 8.

The chair is formed of the leg assemblies A, arm assemblies B, seat C,and back D. The seat C is supported by the arm assemblies and moves upand down with them. As the back is folded forward, the arm assembliestelescope into the leg assemblies, and the seat sinks between them. Thenas the back is lifted, the seat and arm assemblies are returned to theirnormal position.

The leg assemblies tubes are front and back channel guides ii and i.This framework is advantageously covered by aluminum panels or the like8 which are capped by stainless-steel stampings 9.

The weight of the back is supported at the rear of the arm assemblies,and the weight of a person sitting in the chair may be largely supportedby either the front or back of the arm assemblies. It is, therefore,necessary to provide means for maintaining the front and back of the armassemblies at the same relative heights at all times. This mechanism ishoused within the leg assemblies. One preferred means for accomplishingthis is a scissors device, such as is shown in Figs. 4-8. The frontends. of the scissors are fastened to the front of the arm and legassemblies, and the rear ends are slidably fastened to the arm and legassemblies. As the arm assemblies are lowered and raised, the scissordevices close and open. The four extremities of each scissors alwaysform a parallelogram, and the top extremities are thus in a plane whichis always horizontal (or always maintained at the same angle to thehorizontal if the lower extremities are not in the same horizontalplane).

The preferred operating mechanism shown in the drawings utilizes doublescissor blades or plates. Thus, the scissor half which extends from thefront lower corner to the upper rear corner comprises the plates 12which embrace the plates K5, the four plates being held together by thepivot 14 and spaced by the block lb.

The lower front ends of the plates l2 are pivotally fastened to a studI8 welded to the tube l. The upper rear ends are held by the pivot 26inthe block 2| which slides on the rod 22. This rod is inserted througha hole in the depending flange 23 of the base 2 3 of the arm assembly.The inner end is threaded into nut 25 welded to a bracket supported bythe base 2 The scissor plates iii are pivoted at their front ends by thepivot 39 in the flange 3! which is welded to the base 24. The rear endsare pivoted at to the block 35 which slides on the bar 37 which isthreaded into the nut 38 (Fig. welded to the guide channel I. The frontend of the bar 3'! is supported in the bracket 39 which is welded to thetube 3.

As the seat and arm assemblies are lowered. the scissors close and theirrear ends slide rearwardlyon the bars 22 and ti. As the seat and armassemblies are raised, these rear ends slide forward on these bars.

The other element of each leg assembly is the link which supports theback in a manner to be explained below. At its lower end it is pivotedat 45 to the stud M which is fastened to the bar 2. As the seat and armassemblies are lowered, the upper end of this link swings backward,describing an arc around the pivot 36.

The arm assemblies The arm assemblies are built on the base plate as. Itis bent down at the rear to form the flange 23 and at the front to formthe flange 50. Projecting rearwardly from the flange 23 and forwardlyfrom the flange 55.! are guide pins 52 which ride vertically in thechannels 1 and 6, respectively. These guide pins are flanked by the feltpads 53 which are held in place by the top and bottom plates 54 and 55.The felt pads are suitably lubricated to slide up and down in thechannels 6 and i.

The arm assemblies are spaced by the tubes 5"! and '58 welded to thedepending brackets 31 and Efi'which are welded to the front and rearends of the base plates 2 Thus, the guides 52 riding in the channels 6and 1 keep the leg assemblies properly spaced.

The arm rests 60 are suitably fastened to the base plates 2t and at thefront are supported by the pillars 52.

The seat The seat is formed of a cushion 'ii) of sponge rubber :or thelike. It is supported by the thin steel plate ll on the channel frame12. This frame is channeled to hold the upholstery as will be explainedbelow. The front of the seat rests on the tube 51 and the rear isfastened, as by welding, to the clip 73 which is welded to the tube 58,thus the seat rides up and down' between the leg assemblies as the armassemblies are raised and lowered.

The back The back is provided with the cushion 89 of sponge rubber orthe like which is supported by the thin metal plate 8| on the channeledframe 82. The frame is channeled to hold the upholstery, as will beexplained below.

Supported by the frame is the three-membered support 98 composed of theparts 96a, 95527, and tile. The legs 99a and Site are welded to theframe 82, and the arm 90%) connects them. Bolt 93 which passes throughthe junction of 90a and 96b passes through the spacer 94 and brace 95which is fastened to the base plate 24 of the arm assemb y. Nut 95 isthreaded onto the bolt Q3. Thus, the back is pivoted at each side to thearm assembly.

The only other support for the back is the links 45 which are pivoted tothe brace 90 at the junctionof the arms 90b and 900 by the pivot 97.When the back is folded forward, the pivot 3'! moves in an are aroundthe base of the link 45. As the back is returned to its open position,the pivot moves forward in an are. It is to be noted that with respectto the pivot points 49 and 93 the pivot 9'? is over center when the backgf tlzige chair is in its open position, shown in The operation of thechair When it is desired to fold the chair up, the top of the back ismoved forward and down. This moves the pivot point 9? to the rear. Itdescribes an are about the pivot 46; As 91 moves backward, the point 93must move nearer the point ifi. It can only move vertically downwardbecause the whole arm assembly moves in the channel guides 6 and l. Thefront of the arm assembly moves downward with the back because of thescissor parallelogram. The pivot point 91 continues to move rearwardly,and the pivot point 93 continues downward until the ears 98 fastened tothe back-supporting channel 82 come to rest on the caps 9 of the legassemblies, as shown in Fig. 2. The operation is reversed when the backis lifted, and the movement is continued until the pivot point 91 passesthe center and locks the seat and arm assemblies against downwardmovement.

The upholstery-fastening means A bead is fastened to the edge of theupholstery. This bead may be of twisted or braided cord, molded plasticor the like. The edge of the seat fabric to which such a bead isfastened is inserted in the seat-supporting channel I2, and the edge ofthe back fabric to which such a bead is fastened is inserted in theback-supporting channel 82. Then any suitable channel-filling means isinserted in the respective channels to prevent removal of theupholstery. Elastic solid rubber tubing is preferred for the purpose. Itshould be of such thickness that it can't be inserted in or removed fromthe channel without stretching. Such upholstery-fastening means isdescribed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 655,762,filedApril 29, 1946. Any suitable means for fastening the upholstery maybe employed.

Alternative means for supporting the arm assemblies Any suitablearrangement may be used for insuring that the front and the back of thearm assemblies move together. Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate diagrammaticallyone means for accomplishing this. Pairs of pulleys I00 and IOI arelocated at the front and rear of the seat assembly on each side of thechair. The cable I02 which is fastened to the front of the leg assembly,at the top, at I03, passes under the outside pulley I00 and over theoutside pulley IOI and is fastened to the rear of the leg assembly atI04, at the bottom. The other cable I01 is fastened at the front at thebottom, at I00, and at the rear top at I09. It passes over and under theinside pulleys. Both pulleys I00 are mounted to turn together, and bothpulleys IOI are similarly mounted to turn together. The cables causethefront and back pulleys to turn together. This keeps the front andback of the seat at the same relative height at all times. The cablesmight be replaced by chains and sprockets.

In the other arrangement shown in Fig. 12 there are four racks I20 atthe four corners of the chair. The gears I2I at the front mesh with thefront rack, and the gears I22 at the rear mesh with the back rack. Theoutside gear of each pair I2I and I22 is mounted to turn with the rodI24, and the inside gears are similarly mounted. Thus, the front andback of the arm assemblies are made to move together.

Details of a modified construction using a different rack arrangementare shown in Figs. 13-15. Fig. 14 is an elevation of the rear of theright leg assembly, Fig. 15 is a side view of the same, and Fig. 14 is aview upunder this right leg assembly. As in the previous arrangementsthe back of this chair is pivotally supported a short distance above itsbase, from the arms. Below this support there is another support for theback at each side of the chair, and this support is a link I40 (whichcorresponds to the link 45 of Fig. 3). The upper end of the link I40 ispivotally connected to the base (or near the base) of the back I4I atI42, and the lower endof the link I40 is adapted to swivel about thepivot I43 located at the base of the chair. As the back is foldedforward to close the chair, the top of this link I 40 swings back aboutthe pivot I43.

Asin the previously described modification the chair of Figs. 13-15 ispreferably equipped with gliders to facilitate moving it from oneposition to another. The glider I45 extends across the back of the chairand a similar glider extends across the front.

The seat of the chair is suitably supported on the front and rear bracesI41 and I48 which move up and down with the seat as the back is pushedback or folded forward. To insure uniform up-and-down movement of thefront and back portions of the seat there is a rod I50 on each side ofthe chair which is keyed to the front and rear gears I5I and I52 whichmesh with the front and rear racks I55 and I56. The rod I50 is mountedin bearings I58 and I59. The gears I5I and I52 are kept in mesh with theracks I55 and I56 by the spacer blocks I62 and I63 wedged inside theframe I55 of the leg assembly and held to lugs I61 and I60 on thebearings I58 and I59 by screws I60. They are thus braced against thestuds I69 which are welded to the seat frame. These screws also holdplates I10 to which the braces I41 and I48 are Welded. The spacer blocksare non-metallic and somewhat resilient so as to absorb vibration noisesgenerated by the meshing of the gears. They may, for example, be made ofwood or a block of plastic-treated fiber.

In Fig. 13, as in Figs. 14 and 15, the rod I55 and gears I5I and I52 arein the raised position, although also shown in dotted lines in thelowered position in Figs 14 and 15. .As the seat is lowered the gearsrevolve and this revolves the connecting rod I50. The spring I15encircles this rod. One end of the spring is fastened to the rod at I16and the other end is fastened at I11 to the stud I69 which moves up anddown with the rod I50 and the rest of the seat assembly. As the back ofthe chair is swung forward and the seat assembly is lowered, therotation of the rod I50 winds and tightens the spring; The increasedtensicn on the spring approximately counterbalances the weight of theback as it is swung forward to an oif-center position. This prevents theback from falling forward rapidly. Conversely when the back and seat areraised the unwinding of the spring aids in lifting them. When properlycounterbalanced the back will remain stationary in any intermediateposition, whether being raised or lowered.

Locks are provided to hold the chair in the erect position and to keepit in the folded position, and push buttons I and I8I are provided torelease these locking means. The push button I30 is swivelly conneced tothe outer end of the arm I84. This arm is held in the clip I855. Theupper end is pressed out by the spring I36. The lower end is providedwith the catch I81, which engages the stud I88 on the link I40. As longas the link I40 is held in the forward position (shown in Fig. 15) theback I4! is locked in its erect position. It cannot be folded forwardbecause this necessitates swinging the link I40 back around the pivotI43. If the button I80 is pushed, the lower end of the arm I84 islowered and this releases the stud I83 so that the link I40 may swingback and the back may then be folded forward.

When the chair is folded up, the seat is close to the floor. The rod I50which connects the gears assumes the position shown in dotted lines,near the base of Fig. 15. The chair cannot be opened as long as the rodI50 is kept in this position. The catch M9 at the lower end of the arml9| fits over the end of this rod. The arm I9I is pivoted at I532. Thespring I 93 presses the upper end of the arm out and keeps the catch I98engaged with the rod I553. When the button it! is pushed it disengagesthe catch and the seat may be opened.

Fig. 16 shows a modified construction in which the spacer plate W3 isabsent and the gear I52 is kept in mesh with the rack I56 by means ofthe roller 28%! which is mounted on the end of the shaft I56 and is notkeyed thereto but is free to turn on the shaft. The circumferentialsurface of the roller 28% engages the surface of the plate 291 whenthere is any tendency for the gear I52 to separate from the rack E56.and rack are kept in engagement at all times.

Thus although locks for holding the chair open and closed are notnecessary, they may at times be desirable. Modifications in design otherthan those shown are possible. Although a chair for a single personconstitutes a preferred form of the invention a wider seat of any designmay be constructed utilizing the features of this invention. Thus a seatwide enough to accommodate two or more persons is within the scope ofthis invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A folding seat with legs, a seat portion, means for moving the seatportion up and down with respect to the legs, and a back extending abovethe seat portion, supporting means for the back which is adapted to moveforwardly and backwardly with respect to the legs, and other supportingmeans for the back which is adapted to move up and down with the seatportion.

2. A folding seat with stationary legs, a seat portion, and two armrests, means for moving the seat portion and arm rests up and down withrespect to the legs, means for maintaining the front and back of theseat portion at the same relative height at all times, and a backextending above the seat portion, supporting means for the back which isadapted to move forwardly and backwardly with respect to the legs, andother supporting means for the back which is adapted to move up and downwith the seat portion.

3. A folding seat composed of a seat portion, a back above the seatportion, two arm assemblies and means rigidly connecting them to oneanother, two leg assemblies, means rigidly connecting them to oneanother, means for keeping the front and back of the arm assemblies atthe same height at all times and for reciprocating the armassemblies upand down with respect to the leg assemblies, and means for supportingthe seat portion by the arm assemblies, the back being pivotallysupported near its lower end by the arm assemblies and lower down bymeans fastened to the leg assemblies which is adapted to move backwardas the back is folded forward, and forward as the back is unfolded.

4. A folding seat which comprises leg assemblies which are stationary,and a back which is adapted to fold forwardly from its upright positionand is pivotally fastened at each side to means which is adapted to movesubstantially vertically with respect to the leg assemblies and which isalso fastened to means which is below the pivotal fastening when theseat is unfolded, which latter means is adapted to move Thus the gear 8away from the front of the leg assemblies. as the back is foldedforwardly.

5. A folding seat which comprises a seat portion, leg assemblies whichare stationary, and a back which is adapted to fold forwardly from itsupright position on two pivotal means. of support, one of which is abovethe other when the seat is unfolded and is adapted to move substantiallyvertically with respect to the leg assemblies, and; the top of the otherof which is adapted to. move toward and away from the front of the legassemblies;

6.. A folding seat which comprises a seat portion,. leg assemblies whichare stationary, and a back With two pivotal means of support, said backbeing adapted to fold forwardly from its upright. position, one of saidpivotal means being adapted to. move substantially vertically withrespect to the leg assemblies, and the top of the other of said pivotalmeans being adapted to move toward and away from the front of the legassemblies and movable lock means adapted to prevent movement of saidother means.

'7. A foldin seat, the back of which is pivotally supported at twolevels, the means of support at the upper of the two levels beingadapted to move substantially vertically and the means of support at thelower level being adapted to describe an arc, the center of which islocated near the floor and toward the rear of the seat, the back beingadapted to fold forwardly from the upright position about the upperpivotal support.

8. A folding seat which comprises a seat portion, arms on each side ofthe seat portion and constructed to move with it, a leg assembly on eachside of the seat portion, mechanism connected at the bottom with the legassemblies and at the top with the seat portion and arm assembly whichpermits the seat portion and arms to move vertically with respect to theleg assemblies while maintaining the seat portion at substantially aconstant angle to the vertical, and a back pivotally fastened on oneside at one point to the seat portion and arm assembly and at a pointbelow this to the top of a link which is pivotally fastened at itsbottom to the leg assembly, said points and the bottom fastening beingso arranged that when the seat is open, straight lines joining them forman obtuse angle which points toward the front of the seat.

9. A folding seat which comprises a seat portion and on each sidethereof an arm assembly and a leg assembly, the seat portion and armassemblies being adapted to move up and down with respect to the legassemblies, mechanism for maintaining the front and rear of the armassemblies at the same height as they move up and down with the seatportion, and at each corner of the seat guides on the arm assemblies andVertical channels in the leg assemblies in which said guides move.

10. A folding seat which comprises legs, arms, a seat portion, and aback which is adapted to be folded down forward and then be swung backto open the seat, which back is supported at only four points, two oneach side of the seat, the upper point on each side of the seat being apivotal connection with the arm on that side of the seat, the lowerpoint being a pivotal connection on a supporting member the lower end ofwhich is pivotally fastened near the floor so that said lower point isadapted to describe an arc backwardly about said fastening as the top ofthe back is folded down forward and an arc forwardly as the topof theback is swung back, and in describing an arc in moving forwardly movesto the front of center with respect to said upper point, and means formaintainingthe front and back of the seat portion at the same relativeheight at all times.

11. A folding seat having a back adapted to fold forwardly downward, alink pivoted at one end near the floor and toward the rear of the seatand at the other end to the back, the back also being pivoted to meansslidable substantially vertically so that as the top of the back ismoved forward, the top of the link is moved backward, and vice versa,the point at which the back is pivoted to the slidable means being abovethe link when the seat is unfolded.

12. A folding seat having a back adapted to fold forward and back, alink pivoted at one end near the floor and toward the rear of the seatand at the other end to the back, the back also being pivoted above thisto means slidable substantially vertically so that as the top of theback is moved forward, the top of the link is moved backward, and as thetop of the back is moved back to return the seat so that it may be usedas a seat, the point Where the link is pivoted to the back moves forwardand over center with respect to the line joining the point where thelink is pivoted near the floor and said point where the back isconnected to said slidabl means.

13. A folding seat which comprises a seat portion, leg assemblies whichare stationary, above the seat a back pivotally supported near its base,means for pivoting the back forward and lowering the seat portion withinthe leg assemblies as the back is folded forward and means for lockingthe seat in this position and means for locking the seat with the backfolded back.

141. A folding seat which comprises leg assemblies, a seat portion, afolding back pivotally fastened to the seat portion, a gear at eachcorner of the seat and a vertical stationary rack in each corner of theseat with which the gear in that corner meshes, and two rods each ofwhich is keyed at its ends to said gears in adjacent corners of theseat, means for moving the seat portion and the top of the back up anddown with said rods and gears.

15. A folding seat which comprises leg assemblies, a seat portion, afolding back pivotally fastened to the seat portion, a gear at eachcorner of the seat, and secured to the leg assemblies a verticalstationary rack in each corner of the seat with which the gear in thatcorner meshes, and two rods each of which is keyed at its ends to saidgears in adjacent corners of the seat, the seat portion adapted to moveup and down with said rods and gears and a spring encircling one of saidrods and fastened at one end to the rod and at the other end to aportion of the seat assembly which is adapted to move up and down anddoes not rotate with the rod, whereby as the seat assembly moves downthe spring is placed under tension and as the seat assembly moves up thetension is released.

16. A folding seat which comprises leg assemblies, a seat portion, afoldin back pivotally fastened to the seat portion, a gear at eachcorner of the seat, and secured to the leg assemblies a verticalstationary rack in each corner of the seat with which the gear in thatcorner meshes, and two rods each of which is keyed at its ends to saidgears in adjacent corners 10 of the seat, the seat portion adapted tomove up and down with said rods and gears and movable lock means adaptedto prevent movement of the rod and gears.

17. A folding seat constructed with a seat portion, a leg assembly ateach side of the seat portion, a rack with teeth therein extendingsubstantially to the floor arranged substantially vertically at each endof each leg assembly, a gear mounted in each corner of the seat portionand each in mesh with one of the racks, and means holding the gears inmesh with their respective racks.

18. A folding seat which comprises leg assemblies, a seat portion,vertical stationary racks secured to the leg assemblies, gears attachedto the seat portion each of which is in mesh with a vertical rackwhereby the seat portion is vertically movable with respect to the legassemblies, a rod having one of said gears rigidly secured at each endthereof and which rotates with said gears when the seat portion is movedup and down, and a spring encircling the rod, which spring is fastenedat one end to the rod and at the other end to a portion of the seatassembly which is adapted to move up and down but does not rotate withthe rod, whereby vertical movement of the seat varies the tension in thespring.

19. A folding seat which comprises leg assemblies which are stationary,a seat portion, means for supporting the seat portion at differentvertical positions with respect to the leg assemblies, a back which ispivoted near its lower edge to the seat portion and is adapted to befolded forward and back, supporting means for the back which alsosupports the seat portion and lowers the seat portion when the back isfolded forward and raises the seat when the back is folded back, lockingmeans engaging with the back supporting means when the back is foldedback to hold the back in this position and other locking means engagingwith the seat portion supporting means when the back is folded forwardto hold the back in this position.

20. A folding seat with legs, a seat portion having means at each cornerthereof cooperating with means mounted in the legs whereby the seatportion is adapted to move up and down with respect to the legs, and aback extending above the seat portion and having its lower portionpivotally connected with the seat portion and means for folding itforward and back as the seat portion is moved down and up.

21. A folding seat with stationary legs, a seat portion with arm restsrigidly attached thereto, means at each corner of the seat portioncooperating with means mounted in the legs whereby the seat portion andarm rests are adapted to move up and down with respect to the legs, anda back extending above the seat portion and having its lower portionpivotally connected with the seat and means for folding it forward andback as the seat portion is moved down and up.

22. A foldin seat composed of two arm assemblies rigidly connected bycross rods, a seat portion supported by the cross rods, a back extendingabove the seat portion, two leg assemblies rigidly connected to oneanother and stationary, means for reciprocating the arm assemblies andseat portion up and down with respect to the leg assemblies and forkeeping the front and back of the arm assemblies at the same height atall times, the lower portion 11 of the back being pivotally supported bythe arm assemblies and also connected to means fastened to the legassemblies which is adapted to move backward as the back is foldedforward, and forward as the back is unfolded.

23. A folding seat which comprises two leg assemblies, a seat portion, aback pivotally supported on an axis between two points on opposite sidesof the back and toward the bottom thereof, means for moving the seatportion and said two points substantially vertically while maintainingsaid two points at a constant distance from the seat portion, and a linkpivotally connected to points on the leg assemblies and also pivotallyconnected at two other points on opposite sides of the back which lattertwo points are below the first-mentioned points on the back when theseat is unfolded, which link swings arcuately about said points in theleg assemblies as the seat is moved rvertically.

24. An article of furniture comprising a seat, supporting legstherefore, means on the seat engaged with means on the legs to supportthe seat at different elevations with respect to the legs,

a back pivotally connected to the seat and to the legs and adaptedto befolded down forward toward the seat from its normally upright positionin which it projects upwardly from the seat, said means on the seatbeing operable to change the elevation of the seat by pivotal movementof the back.

25. An article or furniture comprising a seat,

1'2 legs, seat supporting means connected with the legs and adapted forvertical reciprocation of the seat, and a back which is pivotallysupported by means which includes at least one link pivotally connectedto the legs and to the back, the back being thereby adapted to be foldedpivotally forward with respect to the legs from a position in which itprojects upwardly from the legs to a position in which it issubstantially horizontal, the link being adapted to move arcuately aboutthe point at which it is connected to the legs as the back is movedbetween its open and closed positions, and means for engaging the backwith the legs to retain the back in the closed position.

DWIGHT E. AUSTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 831,574 Stanley Sept. 25, 19061,295,935 Sowle Mar. 4, 1919 1,713,034 Denson May 14, 1929 1,947,980Feyrer Feb. 20, 1934 2,215,758 Knight Sept. 24, 1940 2,328,411 BergstromAug. 31, 1943 2,331,629 Reilly Oct. 12, 1943 2,351,222 Muskin June 13,1944 2,383,340 Pezzano Aug. -21, 1945

